


To The 9 People I Have Dated Before (+1 That I’ve Rejected)

by ProudFujoshi



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Basically Daniel have dated with everyone but from different timelines, Daniel finally opening his heart for Ong, Ending OngNiel cause its science, M/M, Mostly Fluff, happy ending guaranteed, one angst chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2019-01-05 07:04:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12185253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProudFujoshi/pseuds/ProudFujoshi
Summary: Kang Daniel received love advises from his 2 cats while he was in his comatose state, asking him to move on so that he can heal his broken heart by revisiting all his past lovers.Did he manage to visit them all?Will he be able to finally reciprocate Ong Seongwu's genuine feelings?Time to find out.*Insert smirk emojis#SorryNotSorry





	1. How Its All Started

“Oppa…. Daniel oppa..”  “Yo hooo.. Daniel Oppa…”

Daniel groaned at the children’s voice that woke him up, his head throbbing, his body stung like few thousand needles stabbed on it at the same. Rooney and Peter were the first entities he saw as he opened his eyes.

“Girls, hi,” he managed as he scanned the surrounding. “Holy shit, what the hell!” The bed he was laying down on was literally floating around what seems to be cloud, endless of fluffy white cloud. Rooney and Peter who were making themselves comfortable on his stomach seemed unfazed as Daniel frantically whipped his head around, trying to identify if he’s actually dead and currently in heaven.

“Chill Daniel oppa. You’re not dead yet. Close, but not yet.” Daniel definitely saw Rooney’s mouth uttering such words but he’s gonna pretend this was just one weird dream visiting his sleep so he laughed and played along.

“I’m glad then. Where are we now girls?” he asked, calmly stroking the cats alternately as he fell back to the bed. Peter and Rooney exchanged a glance at each other before the two fixed their eyes on the owner.

“Currently we’re on your subconscious state. You had an accident when you tried to save Seongwu oppa from the ice cream truck, remember?”

Recollecting bits and pieces of memory he had before he succumbed to his long ass sleep, Peter’s words finally made sense. And this made him panic.

“Oh my god! What about Seongwu hyung? Where is he?” Face contorted into pure horror, Daniel tethered around the edges of the bed, trying to see if he could get out of this dream to check up on Seongwu. Two set of paws pressed at his chest to calm him down and he finally sat still when Peter threatened to slap him.

“Calm down geez. He’s fine. You pushed him out of the way on time, you got hit instead. Hairline crack on your skull, bruised internal organs and broken fingers are what had happened to you. Well, on top of 2 weeks of comatose state.”

Sighing in relieve, Daniel was glad to find Seongwu was saved. But the relieve was short lived when he finally processed what Rooney had just stated. “So, I’m dead now? No, coma at least? Tell me I’m not dead. I still have to study and work to feed you guys”

Even though they’re cats Daniel could see they were staring at him judgingly. “Stop saying nonsense, we live with your mom. And yes, you’re not dead yet, and yes you’re still in coma. Well, not anymore after this.”

Daniel blinked stupidly, his mind had a hard time adjusting to this subconscious or whatever state he’s in right then. “What do you mean?”  It’s unclear whether the two were sighing like human but they did sound irritated.

“We have something to tell you first then after this you will wake up into the real world.”

Rather than whether he could wake up from his coma, the thing that they wanted to tell him concerned him more since they both looked so serious.

“W..What is it? You girls look serious.” Peter and Rooney stared straight into his eyes, their identical hazel eyes brimmed with untold truth.

“Why do you reject Seongwu when he confessed?” Peter finally started.

As ridiculous as it seemed to be having this conversation with his cats, Daniel still have the decency to look remorseful. Well, the accident happened because of that anyway. Seongwu had been distracted, head hung low when the incoming ice cream truck almost knocked him over.

“Em..I don’t know. To be honest I just wanted to stay friends. He’s such a nice guy,” he confessed, the way he convinced himself for the past 4 months. The cats once again gave him their judging stare.

“You know it’s not true. You like him too. Right here, you know it.” Placing his huge palm over Rooney and Peter paws that rested on his chest, Daniel shook his head lightly, a small sad smile tugged the corner of his lips.

“Loving someone is very painful. Let me stay out of love for a few years, I don’t want to think about it for now. You girls totally know this, right? How many months I cried because of love? A betrayed one at that?” His eyes drown shut in response as he refrained himself from recalling his broken past.

“Well, that is called experience. You know that not everyone you want meant for you. This is the chance to redeem yourself. Seongwu is totally the one for you. Better than everyone, you know how he’s the only person that can make you smile even when you’re sad, the one that knows what you want just by reading your face, the one that only look at you and only you. You can’t let this chance slipped away from your grasp. This is your chance to be happy.”  

Face stoic, Daniel brushed off Peter’s lecture by an offhanded _really now_. Rooney was literally on his face by then, frustrated by the human’s lack of response.

“Listen. You don’t know when you’re going to die. You don’t know when he’s going to die either. If one of the lives end without warning, will you not feel any regret not telling him your real feelings for him? Do you want to wait for death before your sorry ass finally realise that you love him too?”

Rooney was huffing by the end of her sentences, tongue peeking through her mouth. This whole situation got Daniel froze on his track, the perplexed expression he wore quickly transformed into a resigned one.

“I don’t know. I guess I deserve whatever happens to me in future.” “Hey, everyone deserves to be happy. Why do you decide to keep yourself unhappy and restrained like this?”

Head shaking a few times, Daniel stared at the endless cloud, mind deep in thought. “I guess I still not fully over my past broken heart.”

He looked down only to find Peter’s heavy gaze on him. The cat looked so wise, so full of wisdom and it got him wondering what they had been thinking about him for the past few years of their life.

“The question is, are you willing to move on now? To be happy once more?”

There was no itch on the back of his neck but he scratched it anyway, an attempt to hide the embarrassment he felt.

“I guess I do want to move on. No more sad love songs, no more flipping through the old photos.” A small smile graces his lips as he thought of the possibility of escaping the sad phase of his life.

“Then, one way to do it is by revisiting your past lovers. In a way, you can find back yourself and make amend with the past before moving on to future. This is the most effective way to confirm your feelings.”

Choking on his saliva, Daniel vigorously shaking his head, the way he did when Seongwu asked him to go to haunted house with him that one time.

“You want me to meet him? Like… _him_? You know I can’t do that.” That one last love experience was the one he treasured the most, and the most painful one, the one that create a love trauma up until now. He still can’t even pronounce the name without tears forming on his eyes.

“Not just _him_ but also the past boyfriends too. All 9 of them that you have dated before.” Confused, Daniel tried denying the state he’s in right then.

“I might hear that wrong. Do you want me to go see all of them? Before _him_ , I’m not in any serious relationship with any of them. They might even have forgot about me already, heck, even I can only think of only 6 people right now. Nine people? How am I supposed to find all of them? It’s very much impossible, girls.”

Brows knitted tight together, eyes craned into small slits, Daniel reminisced his time line. How many people he had encountered and fell in love with. “Seven. I can think of seven.”

The first time he had seen a cat rolling their eyes was right then, when Rooney finally laid down on his lap, looking so done with his owner.

“Okay now, listen carefully. This is chronologically arranged, I will only say it once.”

Daniel focused on the list Rooney called out, struggling to keep all the names in his mind, swallowing hard at a nonexistence lump on his throat at the last name.

No matter how many times he convinced himself that he’d moved on, he would still taste the bitterness of a heartbreak when he heard the name.

“Wait what? I never dated Jisung hyung, I just like him a lot at one point. I was six years old and didn’t know better.” Rooney and Peter shrugged their small cat shoulders.

“Still boyfriends. I’m glad Jisung is the first one. He definitely will help you with the rest, so don’t worry about finding them all.”  Daniel gave them a sceptical stare.

“Do you think he will believe if I just suddenly blabber ‘Hey hyung, Rooney and Peter told me to meet my past boyfriends so that I can finally move on and confess to Ong Seongwu’. He will just laugh at my face and call me idiot.”

Even he himself broke into laughter as he imagined how ridiculous the situation would play out. Unamused, Rooney nudged at his cheek with her little paw.

“I don’t suggest wording it out that way but I am 100% confident Jisung will rush to help you when he hears you say ‘moving on’ and ‘confess to Seongwu’ in the same sentence,” the cat elaborated and Daniel found himself agreeing. Jisung was his loyal counsellor, he was there during every post-break up, and he was also the one insisting that Seongwu was perfect for him.

_Hmm, maybe one day. Not now._ Was his response. That resulted in a backhand slap from the older. _When he finally agrees to date some other guy, I don’t wanna see tears from your sorry ass._

And Daniel had been wondering ever since whether he would be disappointed if Seongwu did end up dating someone else. The fact that he referred it as _someone else_ instead of just _someone_ must have meant something right?

“Maybe I should stop running away from moving on?” he asked, more to himself. To which the girls cheered in ecstasy, jumping and climbing on his body.

“We think you’re ready to wake up now.” Daniel gave them a look of disbelief. “So I will be woken up from my coma now?”

Before he could listen to their reply, his vision turns cloudy, his body went numb and blankness filled his mind.

 

 

“Daniel?”

The sunlight was too bright, body feels too heavy, head throbbing too loud. Everything felt wrong as soon as he opened his eyes, blinking rapidly to adjust.

“OH MY GOD DANIEL! NURSE, HE’S FINALLY AWAKE! MISS KIM PLEASE LOOK HERE HE’S AWAKE!”

Cringing at the loud holler of the familiar voice, Daniel struggled weakly against Jisung who had pressed his face to the chest. “Oh my god. Thank you buddha for waking this boy up.”

“Shut up hyung. S..hurt me..let go..” he intelligently muttered, grimacing at the croakiness of his throat. His voice came out raspy as they have not been used for 14 days.

Jisung was finally pulled away by the nurses who rushed to see him, shoving thermometers into his mouth, pointing torchlight into his eyeballs, tapping against the cast of his injured right hand.

By the end of the examination, Daniel felt utterly exhausted, slumped lifelessly on the bed as the nurse reminded him that the doctor in charge would come to check on him in a few hours and that he should try to drink some water and eat liquid porridge they provided.

Jisung had been on the phone throughout the investigation and Daniel could’ve guessed who it would be. Definitely his family, Jisung’s own family, Taewoong and Ong Seongwu. Sipping on the water connected by a long straw, Daniel wondered if Seongwu would come running to see him.

“I’m so relieved, thank you god for listening to our prayers.” Repeatedly stoking at the younger cheeks, Jisung was sobbing hideously, his face was slick with tears as he looked deep into Daniel’s eyes, in case this was just a dream.

“Hyung, stop crying. I’m here,” Daniel voiced, his throat still hurt when he talked so he kept it simple. Nodding with a smile, Jisung patted his good hand. Eating was proven to be a difficult task as he kept feeling the gag reflex once Jisung fed him a spoon of liquid porridge.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I brought your favourite chocolate milk, drink this first then we try the porridge again, okay.” At time like this, he was absolutely grateful to have Jisung by his side, no matter how many stupid things he did, the older always have his back.

“Mom?” “Your parents will be here in a few hours. They took the train from Busan just now.” Daniel nodded in understanding, they must’ve been so relieved now and he didn’t want them to rush over now that he’s awake.

“Don’t rush.” Nodding understandingly, Jisung placed the straw connected to the chocolate milk to his mouth. Hunger made him sucked at the drink greedily, earning him a concern glance from Jisung, who rummaged around the plastic bag for more milk.

“I’ve told everyone not to rush since I’m here with you now. They will be fine. Though I positively guarantee that Ong Seongwu will come running even if I told him not to.”

That made Daniel to give him a look that meant _I know what you mean_ which Jisung replied with a smile. Approximately five minutes later, when Jisung was updating him about what he’d been missing for the last 14 days, he recognized a dishevelled Ong Seongwu hovering outside the door.

Their eyes met through the small square clear glass and Daniel yelped in response when Seongwu turned back and fled the scene.

“Seongwu hyung!” he croaked out, lifting his good arm to point at the door. Flabbergasted, Jisung whipped his head to the door but seeing nothing.

“Did he run away?” With a small nod, Daniel signalled Jisung by gripping at the hem of his shirt. “Yeah, I know. I’ll talk to him,” Jisung sputtered, pulling his phone out in mere seconds before sprinting outside.

With body fidgeting nervously, Daniel waited for them to return. He wondered why in the world Seongwu would be running away from him. Being rejected would not be the reason he’s pulling away, right?

He came running after all. Perhaps he felt guilty? Because Daniel was the one sustaining the injuries instead of him. That was stupid, but possible. Seongwu was too pure like that. He will spend his lifetime feeling guilty.

Hearing footsteps toward his ward, Daniel anticipatedly glancing at the door only to be dejected by the arrival of a doctor, apparently the one in charge to care for him. With that, he spent almost an hour being assessed by the doctor, staring blankly when he was given advices on what to do and what not to do, frowning at the amount of pills prepared for him which he know would end up down the toilet bowl.

Later, when Jisung returned to the ward alone, Daniel wondered if this disappointment he felt confirmed his true feelings toward Seongwu.

“He said he still doesn’t feel its right to see you yet. You know how he is, he still very much swallowed by the guilt. Lets give him some time before I drag his ass right here. I don’t want to exhaust you either, you should get enough rest to recover.”

To which Daniel just nodded sorrowfully. When his family finally arrived that night, Daniel tried not to think of how pale and tired Seongwu looked when their eyes met before. For the first time ever, Daniel admitted to himself that he did want to see Ong Seongwu as soon as possible.


	2. Yoon Jisung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First love

Daniel tosses and turns on the bed. It’s been 8 days since the day he had woken up from coma and he’s feeling fantastic now, only his left hand is still wrapped in a cast and not fully healed yet.

Frustrated from the lack of activities, Daniel had requested to be let out from the ward but the doctors vehemently instructed him to stay in ward for at least 10 days. But bed is not meant for a young, half healthy, active, strong Daniel.

“Stop moving around Daniel, you might hurt your hand.” Jisung is currently flipping through a fashion magazine, legs propped up to the bed. Daniel huffs defeatedly.

“I want to go back home. I want to go outside and play. And yeah, catching up with uni and work since I’ve been bedridden for god-know how long. Let me out.”

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Jisung puts down his magazine to face him. “Will you just please listen to the doctors and be good? I don’t want you to break your good arm by flailing around.”

Any incoming protests are cut down by the threatening glare the older wears. “Fine.”

Ever since he had been awakened from the comatose state, he had not mention any of his plans about moving on yet to Jisung. Thinking now is the right time, Daniel steals a glance over Jisung to read his mood. So far so good.

“So hyung, you know how you were my first boyfriend?” Jisung spares him a disgusted stare.

“Pardon?” Daniel turns away in embarrassment, he can feel his ears gradually warming up as he clears his throat to continue.

“I’ve asked you to date me and you said yes, so you _were_ my first boyfriend,” he notes, fingers fiddling with remote control on his lap. Giggling into his palms, Jisung turns his body to face a blushing Daniel.

“That was only because you were 6 and cute. What about it?”

Daniel looks up to lock their eyes together. “Well…Thank you for being my first boyfriend despite the age gap. If you have said no, we wouldn’t be family like right now.”

Eyes glassy at the sudden confession, Jisung throws himself to the boy on the bed. “Why are you like this? Have the doctors told you some bad news? Daniel please be honest with me.”

Laughing at the misunderstanding, Daniel returns the hug anyway, rubbing circles to the back of a crying Jisung.

“Why are you laughing?”

“I swear I’m not dying hyung. Now just listen to me for a second.”

The next 45 minutes is wisely spent by Daniel trying to convince Jisung he is not in any way going to die soon and somehow, truthfully informs Jisung about his bizarre encounter with his cats amidst his subconscious state.

Laughing on his face is the first thing Jisung did when Daniel finally finishes his story. The older finally stops to take a breather, left over giggles spill out of his mouth.

“So that’s why you asked me first? I’m the first one?”

Daniel nods, the pout on his face subdues when Jisung finally looks like he’s going to have a civil conversation about this. The smile on his face is mysterious as he nudges at the younger.

“Finally acknowledging your feelings, I guess?” The rhetorical question causes Daniel to shrug, expression vague.

“Before that, apparently I need to make amend with the past first. Will you help me hyung?” Seems like he doesn’t need an answer when Jisung beams at him in reply.

“Let’s go get them all, tiger.” Daniel palms his face in return, uncertainty clouding his mind as he listens to Jisung skilfully listing out all nine of the people he had dated and in chorological order too.

“I know you more than I know the back of my hands, Niel-ah. And I know some of your ex-s more than you know them.”

Daniel decides not to question that.

 

_Daniel aged six._

_“Ma, I think I like Jisung hyung.” Ma turns to face me with a smile, her hands busy stirring the stew on the stove._

_“I like him too, honey. He’s such a sweetheart for helping us when we arrived here last month.  And he takes care of you really well too.”_

_I smile to myself as I continue colouring my elephant drawing. When I finished, I wonder if I should tell Ma about my feelings. She always understands me and this time wouldn’t be different, right?_

_“Do you think he will say yes if I ask him to be my boyfriend?”_

_Yes, Jisung hyung is already 11 years old and almost a senior in primary school while I still attend kindergarten. But I don’t want to share him with other people, I want to play with him every day for the rest of my life._

_“Aww, that’s so brave of you. I think if he is not dating anyone yet, he might say yes to this brave boy.” Ma says, clapping her hands lightly, patting at my head with a small chuckle._

_Fuelled by Ma’s explosive response, I doubtlessly request to see Jisung hyung after school the next day._

_Jisung hyung arrives when I was picking at the grass on the playground._

_“Yahoo, hi Niellie” he greets, pocking at my cheeks softly, making me giggle. He offers a hand and we move to the empty swings on the corner of the playground._

_“You said you want to ask me something? What is it Niellie? Did you bring back another cat?” he questions as he helps pushing my swing. I sweat, unsure if I can do this as well as I imagine it to be._

_“You look worried. What is it Daniel? Did you do something you shouldn’t? It’s okay, you can tell hyung, I won’t tell anyone.” Jisung hyung is already on his knees, face concerned as he grasps at my hands._

_“Emm..no..not that..I just..” I steal one nervous glance at him before deciding I should just get it over and done with._

_“Em..I like you hyung. Will you be my boyfriend?” Jisung is giggling when I’m done, but he stops when he realises I was being serious. Huge smile appears on his face when he softly pinches my cheeks._

_“Okay. Since you are very cute.” That brings a very relieved smile on my face, I laugh when Jisung hyung starts making funny faces to get my attention and I don’t mind seeing his funny faces every day._

_Each day are wonderful when I spend my free time with Jisung hyung, sometimes we have dates at waffle shop or ice cream shop sometimes we read quietly at bookstore or library and sometimes we just laugh at every little thing._

_Things changed when Jisung hyung started middle school. He started to hang around a circle of friends his own age, he barely has time to spend with me anymore, and I start seeing this Taewoong guy visiting his home every weekend._

_I requested for a break up when I see Taewoong tried to kiss Jisung hyung._

_I know it wasn’t his fault, but I did know a twelve years old wouldn’t hang around a seven years old anymore when they have friends their own age._

_“I’m sorry if I ever hurt you, Daniel. I’m sorry for not being able to spend time with you too. We can still be friends, right? And brothers? You can come to me if you have problems.”_

_Since that day, every time I have problems, no matter how stupid, I will come running to Jisung hyung’s house, five houses away from mine. And Jisung hyung will always welcome me with his warm hugs._

_Losing a boyfriend to gain a brother doesn’t seem like a bad deal._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it's going to be 1 chapter per person hihi...  
> I dont know about everyone else but I love imagining smol Daniel and smol Jisung together hihi. The rest of the fic going to spread out evenly, maybe, throughout Daniel's timeline, so look forward for more smol Daniel, prepubescence Daniel, confused Daniel. Lots of Daniel. (Btw he's not my bias)
> 
> Jisung's story pretty short since he's going to be everywhere in this fic.  
> Hope you guys stay tune for the next one~
> 
> Who would it be? 
> 
> *Sorry, YMC did this all the time. I just wanna try haha...
> 
> And oh, this fic mostly going to be fluffy all the way up till 'him'. I'm warning now so no one can blame me later ;)


	3. Lee Daehwi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Innocent Love

“Niel-ah, I found him! I found Lee Daehwi!”

Startled from his nap, Daniel lifts his body to rest his back on the headboard. He blinks his sleepy eyes when Jisung shoves the laptop to his face. Eyes focusing on the profile picture of a young-looking adult, he tries to merge the image with one he had from childhood memory.

“It’s creepy how he still looks similar, it’s been 11 years. And he still lives in USA.” Alerted by the information, his sleepiness dissipated, replaces by incoming concern.

“How am I supposed to meet him? Do I have to fly to US? I don’t have enough money, hyung!”

Jisung frowns at him, clicking his tongue the way he always did when Daniel said something stupid.

Raising his brows questioningly, Daniel voices a _what_ before focusing on scrolling through Daehwi’s timeline.

“You know there’s this thing called a video call, you can do it through facebook or skype or even kakaotalk and line, heck, every medium possible. You just have to push the button that look like camcorder then yo…”

“Okay, shush. I know what a video call is, I’m not an idiot” he mutters, slapping a palm over Jisung’s mouth, abruptly retreated when Jisung playfully bites at them, making the older laughs.

“Gross hyung.”

The whole evening, they tried to confirm if that Lee Daehwi is indeed the Daehwi he had dated back when he was still in elementary school.

Closing his eyes real tight, Daniel tries to remember his second lover, how he met Daehwi and how long they dated.

 

_Daniel aged 10_

_“Kiki…Kiki..” I call out for the cat I’ve been secretly feeding for the past 2 weeks. Ma will ground me if she knows I secretly pet stray cat. Kiki is so small and cute, I can’t help taking care of him._

_I found Kiki walking down the street, his strides careful and slow as he passes through the busy cycling lane. I run to him, trying to save him from the traffic, but before I can grab him, one bicycle is speeding right toward Kiki’s direction._

_“Kiki, watch out!” I scream as I throw myself over Kiki’s body in reflux. When I realise the bicycle did not hit us, I look around to find the boy with that bicycle swerved outside the lane, his face planted to the grassy ground._

_“Hey, are you okay?” I approach the boy with Kiki in my arms. The boy slowly sits up and give a thumb up despite looking like a mess. He cringes when I point a shaky finger at his bleeding knees, but he didn’t cry._

_“Come on, I’ll tell my mom to get you a band aid. Are you sure you are okay?” I blabber, grasping at his small hand before slowly dragging him toward the direction of our house._

_“I’m fine, it doesn’t hurt that bad. What is your name by the way? I’m Daehwi, I’m seven years old.”_

_I look down at the shorter boy who smiles at me, 3 years younger than me, and very small too. Daehwi is definitely very cute._

_“I’m Daniel. You can call me Daniel hyung since I’m 10.” I did not want to brag about being older, but look at me, I’m helping a cat and an injured boy at the same time. Jisung hyung needs to hear this._

_“You are very nice, Daniel hyung. You help the cat and you help me too.” His eyes sparkle like the stars up in the sky, his smile wide and gentle. My heart skips a few beats, the way they did when I first met Jisung hyung. Is this love too?_

_Daehwi talks a lot, even when Ma helps him with the wounds, he keeps on conversing, curiosity keeps him busy. It seems like he lives a few blocks away, and he just moved here last week._

_He is still learning how to steer his bicycle properly, that’s why he ends up crashing his bike sideway when he tried to avoid Kiki._

_“Do you want to play with me tomorrow?” Seeing him nodding excitedly, I giggle to myself._

_I walk him home after that, promising him to meet tomorrow at the park. The smile he gives when we say goodbye makes me looking forward for tomorrow._

_Few days after we decided to play together after school, I start bringing him snacks and candies, just to see him smile more, just to make him happy. The way he munches on the snacks reminds me of a Taewoong hyung’s hamster. Fluffy and adorable._

_I did not ask him to be my boyfriend but we naturally did become a couple, since Jisung hyung and my few other friends keep teasing us for that. I never did correct them, maybe because I prefer it that way too._

_Daehwi was unbothered when they call him my little boyfriend too, I think he likes me too, or he’s just too young to understand what a boyfriend is._

_“Daniel hyung… I have to..move back to LA. We can’t see each other again.”_

_The first time I see him crying was the day before he left for Los Angeles. He never cried when he stumbled on the pavement, never cried when a bee stung him on his neck, smiling even when he got scratches from falling off his bike._

_“Its..its okay… we can still c..call and..sen..send letters.” I had replied between my own sobs, burying my face on Ma’s chest when Daehwi cries harder into his mother’s arms._

_We part way the next day, I manage to slip some letter and snacks into his bag pack before they go._

_That evening, with tears on my eyes, I lay down on the grass, looking at the sky so that I can spot that plane that brings him away from here._

_We continue to send email and letters for a few months, but eventually forget about each other as we move on with our current live._

“So, should I do it now? What do I say? Hyung, I think he doesn’t even remember me anymore.”

Daniel is panicking now, biting at his nails gingerly, a habit he wishes to stop but never tried. Looking over Jisung’s shoulder to peek at the laptop screen, he screeches when Jisung nonchalantly clicks on the video call button.

“Hyung, drop the call! I’m not ready!” Jisung pulls at his ears, face stern as he growls under his breath.

“You’ll never be ready if I give you that one chance. Face it boy.” Reluctantly, Daniel brings the laptop to his lap, his pleading cries being ignored by the older.

“What do I say though? Help me, hyung,” he half-whispers as they wait for the call to be accepted.

“The same thing you had told me. No, since I’m special to you, just say _thanks for being my boyfriend, sorry for losing contact_ yadda yadda. Remember, you want to move on.”

It was almost 3 minutes before Daehwi finally receives the video call, his still adorable face fills the screen. Daniel couldn’t help smiling at that, he looks similar to how he was 11 years ago, sparkly eyes and wide smile.

“Hello? Is that Daniel hyung? Like the one from Korea?” he asks in English.

Overwhelmed, Daniel glances at a shrugging Jisung before nodding exaggeratedly to make sure Daehwi sees it. He is pretty relieved that Daehwi still remember him but the fact that Daehwi is exclaiming excitedly in English causes him to have a mini panic attack.

“H..Hi, how are you?” he starts, cringing at how awkward that sounds, his mind running at full speed trying to recall all English lessons he had throughout his life.

Don’t judge him, he knows the language, just not when facing a fluent speaker and definitely not when he’s worrying over what to talk.

In the end, Daehwi switches to Korean, a tad bit messy, but tangible. At least now Daniel doesn’t have worry about how to say certain words in English.

“So how have you been doing? We haven’t talk for so long, I almost didn’t recognise you.”

Daniel smiles his awkward smile, eyes darting around his ward as he tries to figure out what’s the best way to start explaining his situation.

Jisung’s encouraging nudge breaks him out of his trance, and he clears his throat, finally ready to do this.

“I’m doing fine, well, I actually got into an accident last month and now I just got better. Currently still studying though, I’m taking physical ed at local uni. I almost didn’t recognised you too, Daehwi. You looking real good. How about you? What’s you’ve been up too?”

Once the conversation flows fluidly, the two continue talking for almost two hours. Daniel did manage to include how he’s in a quest to open up his heart for new love, thanking Daehwi for all the happy time they had spent in the past, wishing him all the best as future Asian-American singer-composer.

“I wish you all the best for your future love too, you deserve to be happy, hyung. I’m hoping for a happy ending so I can see a picture of you and your partner smiling on my news feed. Don’t forget to keep in touch too.”

Even after saying good bye, the smile on his lips lingers a tad bit longer. This isn’t as bad as he thought it’s going to be. Daniel texts Jisung on the progress, since the older left for work earlier.

_We can proceed to the third one then_ was his reply and Daniel hums in wonder.

“Who’s the third again?”

As if the older can read his mind by sheer telepathy, the coming reply read _I bet you don’t even remember who’s next. Idiot._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally being able to sit down and rest after such a long day (8 hours of classes and workshops + 2 hours of judo), and I thought that everyone deserve smol Daehwi to motivate ourselves to keep on doing our best in life.   
> Hope you guys like this chapter and stay tune for more.
> 
> People said third time's a charm.   
> Is it really? Hihihi  
> Until then.......


	4. Park Jihoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An Angel In Disguise?

_Daniel aged 13_

_Park Jihoon._

_Even his name is as beautiful as his entire being. Every time I passes by the class next door, I try to catch a glimpse of him. Sometimes he’s smiling, sometimes he’s sleeping, sometimes he even frowns in concentration._

_Every expression is made to break your heart. He’s beyond ethereal to put it into words. More than once had I thought of asking him out, but the wall of defence created by his die-hard fans is impenetrable. They will call you out if you even stare at him a second longer than allowed._

_The fact that his beauty blooms each and every passing days did help fuelling my motivation to get his attention._

_I want to impress him so bad. I tried talking about this to Jisung hyung but he just told me to keep on dreaming._

_I know that Park Jihoon is untouchable, but I am not by any means a loser in school. I have a hoard of my own fans too. Well, I buy them food sometimes, but still. If I want to impress Park Jihoon, I can, if I try hard enough._

_“You can try b-boying. It’s a hot stuff now. Win competition, get the fame, get the boy. It’s so simple, Niel-ah.”_

_Reconsidering Taewoong hyung’s idea, I scroll through the YouTube channel he had suggested._

_“Don’t give him ideas, Taewoong. He will break his arm trying to learn all that lame moves. Look at what happened to Jinwoon. I don’t want anyone to break anything trying to impress a pretty boy they couldn’t get,” our oldest hyung nags from the kitchen._

_My interest perks up at that. “Jinwoon hyung learns b-boying? Where? Sign me up hyung.”_

_Taewoong hyung gives a thumb up as he looks up from his manhwa, cowering back down when Jisung hyung points at us with a spatula._

_“What did I just say?”_

_“You know I’ll be really careful. And I am a very fast learner.” I tried to convince him by copying some moves I just watched from youtube, giggling when I did not trip over my own legs._

_“Let the boy chase his dream, hyung. He will learn the bitterness of the world this way. And improve himself. Hopefully without breaking anything,” Taewoong hyung mutters in defence._

_I give him a high five when we see Jisung hyung starts to waver._

_“What about your Taekwondo?” I give a nonchalant shrug._

_“I got my black belt already, they still teach moves that I already know by heart. It’s time I learn something new.”_

_To make my argument more solid, I just gotta add, “It’s not like I’m hanging out with delinquents till midnight and cause ruckus on the neighbourhood. Besides, Jinwoon hyung is there too. He’ll look over me.”_

_After 10 more minutes of discussing, Jisung hyung finally relents, with a condition of I got Ma’s permission._

_“I’m calling my mom now.”_

_Convincing Ma is far more easier than Jisung hyung, since she’s very understanding and since she’s working until late, she knows how bored I will be through the day._

_The next weekend, I start attending the b-boying classes with Jinwoon hyung. The classes are unexpectedly more fun than challenging, I learn new moves within few hours and I even got promoted into advanced classes within few weeks. It was a good choice after all._

_“Daniel, your chance is coming!”_

_Haknyeon, a boy from Jihoon class who attends the same dance academy, slaps a flyer to my table. A school dance competition it reads._

_A smirk makes their way up the corner of my lips. My chance to impress the ever so beautiful Park Jihoon is coming and I’m not backing away._

_“Sign me up, dude.” “That’s what I wanna hear.”_

_Without us noticing, the day of the competition finally arrives. We had practiced extra hard for this competition, and if we didn’t win, I will be more than disappointed. The crowd has gathered around the stage of the sport hall, and I scan quickly for a certain beauty among the mass of people._

_“I had a resource telling me Park Jihoon might arrive later since he’s living quite far away.”_

_The words from Hakyeon almost made me lose my motivation, but the fact that I see Jisung hyung and the rest on the very first row, flailing their hands around to cheer me, I can’t help forcing myself to do my best despite my initial plans might be skewed along the way._

_“Don’t worry, I think he will make it before our stage. Chill, dude.” “Thanks, man.” I hope so too._

_To my delight, I did notice his presence right before our performance, standing in the corner with expectation, even without the spotlight on him, he still looking so bright I might be blinded._

_“I think I’m seriously going blind” I mutter to myself when our eyes meet, for a whole 4 seconds. Yes, I counted. I slap myself to return my focus on the stage. I should do this right._

_When we finally start performing, I feel the adrenaline rush through my vein as the crowd cheers at my solo moves. Risking a glance to Jihon’s direction, I notice his small smile as I steer my body upside down._

_Whoa, bad moves. I end up face planted to the floor because of that smile, focus interruption for that millisecond glance. Not wanting to bear the humiliation, I improvise the move right off the bat, turning to support my weight over my head before spinning like a circus._

_Thank god everyone buys that cheap stunt I pull, hearing the loud cheers sooth my aching head. When we finally wrap up the performance, the crowd gives us the loudest cheer, and I giggle to myself when I see Jihoon is cheering for us too, hands clapping enthusiastically._

_“I think he’s looking at you, Daniel.” Haknyeon whispers as they announce us as the winner. I look over his shoulder to see Jihoon passing by the stage, eyes fixed on mine, lips curl into a pretty smile._

_It might be just my imagination, but I swear I see him winking at me as he looks back over his shoulder just before leaving the sports hall._

_“Did he just wink at you? Aww, you score, man.” So, it wasn’t an imagination after all. I did it. Thank you everyone for making this happen._

_I thought it’s gonna stop when I did my part to impress him, but I was proven wrong. Jihoon personally visits me the next day, casually sits himself to the desk next to mine. I almost choke on my banana milk when he says hi with that beautiful smile on his face._

_“h..Hi. I’m Kang Daniel. You are beautiful. Thank you.” Great._

_I had blabbered nonsense and he’s gonna be so grossed at my stupid self. The giggles that he lets out sound like the bells from heaven, his face reddens when he throws his arms up to deny my words._

_“I’m not beautiful, I’m Jihoon. But nice to meet you too, Daniel.” I chuckle stupidly at that. I probably already look very dumb, might as well keep this conversation going._

_“I see you at the competition yesterday, do you enjoy the performances?” Jihoon eyes light up at that, small mysterious smile graces his lips when he replies to me._

_“Yes, I enjoy it. Especially, the winning team. Your team did a very good job. You did an amazing job covering up that little slip you had in the middle.” I sweat, feeling my pupils shakes out of focus. This is the stupidest I’ve ever feel for the past 13 years of my life._

_“You..notice?” Noticing my dumbstruck condition, he frantically pats at my arm in assurance._

_“Yeah, I did, but it wasn’t bad at all, it was impressive even, since you covered them up right on the spot. I don’t think anyone else realised it though. You are amazing.”_

_Hearing the words I don’t deserve directly from the beautiful, perfect Jihoon himself makes me giddy, my mouth can’t stop spilling excited giggles that are apparently contagious too, since Jihoon starts to giggle at me in amusement, which later turns into a giggle festive with the two of us keep going at it for 3 solid minutes._

_“You are very interesting. We should hang out sometimes.” Jihoon has suggested when we finally stop, his cheeks still pink and raw, voice out of breath. I nod so fast it almost give me a headache._

_He just smiles in response, slipping a note of his number under my palm before bidding a good bye. Not forgetting to wink back at me before he leaves the class. And I start to thank god for this golden opportunity. I’ve never feel so blessed._

_We start hanging out mostly on weekends, sometimes to the arcade, sometimes we go food hunting, sometimes he even accompanies me to dance practices._

_It was when we had an ice cream date that I had my first kiss. Jihoon was playfully smearing his ice cream over my lips, chuckling when I pout in protest. All of the sudden, his face got real close to mine, I can even count all of his eyelashes at this distance. My face heated up naturally._

_“You look so pink,” was his words before he leaned forward to steal a peck over my ice-cream covered lips. Hiccupping was my immediate response, eyes widening in shock. I’m pretty sure I look mostly dumb and ugly but Jihoon just smiles and dove in for another peck._

_“Yum..Butterscotch.”_

_When he tried to kiss me the third time, I had pushed his face away, my face burning up a few degrees. I took a deep breath before initiating a quick kiss, after I properly clean the leftover ice cream off my mouth._

_“That’s more like it.” I swear this Jihoon was not the one I picture him to be before we started dating, but I’m not complaining. His lips are very soft and those kisses aren’t so bad._

_It was all sweet and dreamy, until all of his fans start to give me dirty looks, bumping against my shoulder purposely when Jihoon wasn’t looking, stealing my stuff and throwing them out of the window._

_That was when I reconsider if I want to be treated like a loser just so I can keep one pretty boy by my side. Don’t get me wrong, I like Jihoon, a lot, but I’m not sure if I like him enough to let myself being physically and mentally abused like this._

_My last straw of patience was tested when they attempted to cut my uniform into pieces, I was in my tracksuit and had just done with the physical ed class. I lost all my reasoning when I start chasing after them, footsteps thumping loudly as we run pass the busy hallway._

_I groan when I lose the sight of them as they slip into the crowd skilfully, being girls with smaller frame did help them escape my rage. Jihoon who notices my distressed state approaches me but I push him away, avoiding his questioning eyes._

_Pulling away from his grasp, I try to avoid his questions as I move away from him, heading toward the classroom to calm myself a bit. I can’t face him now, not when I’m emotionally torn like this._

_“Daniel, what’s wrong? Tell me.”_

_“Nothing.”_

_I replied hastily, speeding up when Jihoon tries to catch up with me. He grabs onto my arm to stop me but I resist, practically sprinting when I break away from him._

_“Daniel, stop right there!” he demands, voice harsh over heavy breathing._

_That stops me on track, maybe he deserves some explanation after all. My train of thought brought to a halt when he clutches me by the collar, face red and angry as he traps me against the nearest wall._

_“What the hell? Just tell me what the fuck is wrong!”_

_His threatening voice booms along the almost empty hallway, few heads peeking at us in interest as they pass by. Gulping, I am forced to meet his furious gaze, my heart beats so loud its deafening._

_“I..I..”_

_People had warned me about his temper, but since nothing ever trigger him when we date so far, I thought it was just a badly made rumours. Oh boy, I was wrong._

_“Tell me why the hell you’re running away and why the hell you look so distracted these days.”_

_Tone low, eyes serious, the pretty Jihoon is gone. Sighing loudly, I try to calmly put a hand on his chest, an attempt to tame his anger. Apparently, it works, as Jihoon slowly puts his hand down to his sides._

_No matter how you look at the situation, I am the one that should be angry. I am the victim. Why am I getting all the heat? This thought totally got me finalising my pending decision._

_“Let’s break up. I can’t do this anymore.” Jihoon gapes in shock._

_“What? W..wha.. come on Daniel, you know I don’t mean to get angry at you. I just want to know why are you running away from me.” Voice pleading, he links his fingers with mine, his whole face softening._

_I look away, his begging face could get me weak on my knees._

_“It’s not your fault. I just.. I can’t stand the hate anymore. From your fans. They hate me.”_

_Slowly, I glance at his face, regretting it when I see his expression hardening._

_“What did they do to you?” When I hesitate, he grips at my shoulders, hands shaking._

_“Daniel, tell me,” he urges impatiently._

_“They bother me a lot. I can’t stand that anymore,” I reply, not wanting to go into details. Obviously Jihoon is unhappy with the vague answer._

_“Fine, if you can’t tell me, I’ll find them myself. Might as well get rid of them while I can.”_

_The next minutes were blurry and confusing, I remember getting punched in the face by one of the girls when Jihoon literally grabbed one of them by the collar, demanding explanation._

_Thing escalated into a huge mess when everyone just started to yell and pushing at each other, with some of the girls pulling at my hair, slapping me when they got the chance and Jihoon shoved them away because I’m not the type that hit girls._

_The fight broke away when the principal threw a few buckets of water to our faces and we got called to the office straight away._

_All of those involved including me, got a week detention, Jihoon had gotten himself a suspension when he protested right on the principal face trying to explain the situation, profanities included._

_In the end, during his suspension, I secretly move out of the school to transfer to the neighbouring school. I can’t face Jihoon anymore, or his rabid fans, not after the whole mess that wouldn’t have happen if everyone just calm down. And an angry Jihoon scarred me for life._

“Hmm.. I can’t find any Park Jihoon anywhere. I don’t really know him either. How many days you dated him?” Daniel raises a brow.

“A month. A whole month, hyung. I don’t know where he is right now too, I’ve been avoiding him since moving out of that school. Last I heard, he joined pink sausages? Like a band of delinquents? All the more reason to avoid him.”

Sighing loudly, Daniel scrolls through the facebook, his attempt to find his 3rd lover proven futile. “Do I have to see him? I don’t really want to though.” Jisung shoots him a judging glare.

“He’s your first kiss, of course you have to find him and thank him and all that jazz. He actually liked you a lot and looking aside his bad temper, he was a very nice boy, wasn’t he?” 

Daniel can’t help agreeing to that, a smile tugs the corner of his lips as he recalls Jihoon sweet smiles and perpetual pink cheeks.

“Let me ring up a few Park Jihoon here and see if they are the one.” Jisung flips through a thick Yellow Pages and mark at the pages that record personal information of several Park Jihoon-s. There are about 11 of them and they both try to ring up each half.

6 people claim they do not know any Kang Daniel, 1 person describe a wrong Kang Daniel, 3 people didn’t pick up their phones and the last person answers with an offhanded _I don’t care_. 

“Guess we just move on to the fourth then,” Jisung decides, throwing the Yellow Pages into his bag distastefully.

“And I was getting all excited for nothing, I really want to see how he looks like now.”

Daniel nods solemnly, his chance to apologise for his immature avoidance is denied. Karma sucks.

“Who even the fourth one?” That earns himself a sideway smack on the head, he’s glad Jisung uses the hand fan instead of the Yellow Pages.

“Oi stupid, you should at least remember all the people whose hearts you had broken. I swear to God your whole life right now is a humungous Karma thrown at you. Be grateful you haven’t been beaten up to pulp yet by your ex-s.”

Daniel doesn’t need a reminder on that very issue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love ooc gangster Jihoon. #sorrynotsorry  
> What do you think happen to him after Daniel left him?  
> Who is the next person?  
> Stay tuned for more....  
> Sorry guys.  
> Happy Weekend.


	5. Bae Jinyoung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is he the one?

_Daniel aged 14_

_Falling in love with Bae Jinyoung was easy because he’s beautiful. Almost as beautiful as Jihoon. I was walking down the hallway when I heard the familiar notes of ‘I don’t love you’ playing on the piano._

_Curious, I peek through the ajar door of the music room, seeing a silhouette a boy on the piano. The hums that accompanying the notes of the song peak my interest and I stealthily get closer to the figure._

_“What even..”_

_Speechless is my reaction, when I see a very beautiful boy gracefully playing the piano with his back facing the keyboards, and with only one hand, since his other hand gripping at the lyric sheet. What is this talent even called?  (If you’ve seen the SNL skit, you know what I meant)_

_“Yikes…” he yelps when he notices my presence, his hands covering his small face in embarrassment. I throw my hands up to ensure him that I’m harmless, smiling when I see him relaxes, but still avoiding any eye contact._

_“Hi, I’m just passing by when I heard my favourite song being played. The way you play the piano is amazing. Never seen something like that before,” I initiate, giving him my thumbs up._

_With his hands still covering his pretty face, he nods in respond, head facing the floor._

_“What’s your name? I’m Daniel. I think we never met before.” The boy gives a quick glance at me, his face reddens when he notices my staring._

_“Bae Jinyoung. You’re popular, Daniel. I know you.” Giggling at his cute answer, I step closer to him, levelling my face to his._

_“Do you come here often?” A nod._

_“Do you mind if I come here to listen to your songs?” Another nod, abruptly followed by a shake of head. “If you want to.” With that, I make a promise to meet him every single day if I have the chance._

_Our relationship progress from frequently occupying the music room to lunch dates at the cafeteria. One day I finally ask him out on weekend, a big step considering Jinyoung never date anyone before._

_“Where to?” His question is curt but the way his eyes sparkle in interest brings a smile to my face._

_“I wanna say wherever you want, but that’s cliché. So how about movies?” I wait patiently when he considers my suggestion, eyebrows scrunch in concentration. Chuckling, I gently pinch his cheeks, making him blushes in response._

_How can a person be so cute? Will he get mad if I tell him I want to bite him? Scratch that, he might get overheat if I tell him that._

_“I like movies. But I’ll ask my dad first to confirm it.”_

_That. The only reason we are still at friendly date phase. His father never fails to pick him up 3 pm sharp after school, and he will glare the hell out of you if he notices you staring. The reason we only date at school. How did I manage to forget that one important detail?_

_“Okay, sure. I hope he will let you out, coz I really want to go out with you.”_

_Trying so hard not to sound desperate, I wear a huge smile on my face, hoping that I look at least half handsome. He looks sheepish all of the sudden, fingers tracing the hem of his blazer._

_“Are you asking me to be your boyfriend?” is his timid reaction to my words._

_My smile crooked to a side. I thought we already considered to be dating. Apparently not._

_“Yeah, only if you want to,” I calmly reply, looking down at his face to read his expression._

_“I do.” That half crescent eye smile melts my heart. I don’t mind the whole friendzone thing at all. Since today I can finally count as day one._

_“Do you know that your smile can potentially cure cancer? And make the earth green again?” Jinyoung blushes heavily, the tip of his ears reddens prettily. Taking this chance to further tease him, I continue with my sappy compliments just to see him getting all flustered._

_“Stop it, Daniel.” I giggle when he gives a light hit to my chest, cupping his face in place when he least expects it._

_“Can I kiss you?” Without waiting for a reply, I close the distance between us, staring deep into his eyes when I lean into his lips._

_Before our lips meet, my cheek meets the palm of his hand instead._

_“No, not yet.”_

_Hastily, he gathers all his music notes and start packing. I panic, my mouth opens and closes dumbly when I try to think of an excuse for trying to steal a kiss. Probably his first kiss._

_“I’m sorry I shouldn’t try to kiss you when you’re not ready I’m being stupid forgive me Jinyoung,” I manage to sputter in one breath a second before he flees the scene. Great, I just get myself labelled as selfish, dumb, hormonally unstable boyfriend. He will hate me forever._

_So, when he informs me that his dad agreed to let him out for our Saturday date, I can only grin dumbly, more relieved that he’s not mad at me than the fact that his father finally giving him permission to go out on weekends._

_Hold on a second. His dad gave what?_

_“Wait, what?” Almost distracted by his shy smile, I search for his eyes, my heart swells in delight when I see them twinkle._

_“My dad allowed me to go out with you for the movie,” he repeats with a smile, head drops bashfully as he stirs at his yogurt. I smile so big my cheekbones hurt._

_Now that his dad finally giving us the greenlight, we can finally date in peace. We spend the whole recess planning our first date. I just hope the day will run as smooth as my pick-up lines._

_I was proven wrong._

_Here we are, at the cinema, with Mr.Bae in between us with his arms around our shoulders. His laugh is going to be my latest nightmare, I swear to God._

_Lips tight, I solemnly drag myself to the popcorn booth, as I instructed to do so, the father and son lining up for the ticket._

_“Why is this happening?” I mutter to myself, staring at the caramel coated popcorns inside the glass display. I glance at their direction, pouting when I realise they are totally enjoying themselves, making me feel like a third wheel here._

_Which 14 years old has their dad crashing on their date? What year is this again?_

_“I hope you like horror movie, Jinyounggie loves horror movie so much he watches them every week.”_

_I’m going to pretend the sly smile on Mr.Bae face is not intentionally meant to mock me as I reluctantly trail behind them, I know I look dead-ass scared, but I shouldn’t back down now or it’ll be my lose._

_What make things worst is that Mr.Bae tries to sit between us when we enter the cinema, fortunately Jinyoung notices this and quickly begs to sit in the middle, to which his father relents._

_“No funny business,” he voices and the two of us nod sheepishly, I avoid his eye contact because the warning was clearly directed at me. This isn’t what I had pictured our date to be._

_Throughout the whole movie, I had to pretend I was fine. Being a well-known coward as described by Jisung hyung, naturally I have to cling to the nearest person when spooky scene comes out, and that person happened to be Jinyoung, who giggles at my failed bravado._

_I was awarded few sharp glares when my eyes meet Mr.Bae’s gaze. Which is scarier than the movie. What did I get myself into?_

_My head hangs low for the rest of the date, Mr.Bae keeps staring at me with his judging eyes even when our hands just happen to brush against each other. There’s no way I’m allowed to as much as look at him in the eyes at this rate._

_“I swear to God his dad might hit me with a car and pretend it was an accident, if I even try to kiss him.”_

_Taewoong hyung and Jisung hyung just laugh at my misery, bodies tangling as they roll on the floor in respond to my suffering. As usual, I hang out at Jisung hyung place when they have a mid-semester break. And they’re not being anywhere helpful right now._

_“Well, you did try and get slapped because of that. Just be glad he’s not telling his dad about that. And whoever teach you to kiss people without permission deserve a smack right on their head.”_

_I cringe at Jisung hyung’s words, definitely not going to tell him that I learn it all from Jihoon, my past boyfriend. Who is part of a notorious delinquents now._

_“Well, at least you can still date normally at school,” Taewoong voices, not looking concerned at all as he resumes his game. I sigh. No one understand me anymore._

_“I think his father pays a few students to spy on him, coz each time I try to hold his hand or be alone with him, there’s always someone cockblocking me. This is so frustrating.”_

_Jisung shrugs, totally unaffected by my problem._

_“It’s your fault for falling in love too easily though. And with the wrong one-s.” I scoff._

_“That includes you too in case you forgot.” Taewoong snickers in disgust. “Oh god, don’t remind me. I was involved in that scene.”_

_“Shut up. No one understand me anymore.”_

_I throw a cushion to Taewoong’s face when I heard him whispering ‘puberty’ to Jisung hyung, who giggles at that. I am way past puberty, I convince myself. And I’m not falling in love with the wrong one-s, I convince myself that too._

“So Jinyoung is currently studying at Sehan University and is part of the student body. They are having a fund-raising event on Friday, which is open to public. Your chance, Daniel.” The said boy peers over Jisung’s shoulder to look at the poster on the laptop screen.

“Cool, I just have to find him amongst three thousand students roaming around the campus on Friday evening.” Truthfully, he deserves the smack from Jisung.

“Stop sounding so pessimistic, come on. Apparently, he is still very good-looking, so you just have to ask around. Bae Jinyoung is not a common name too. “

Daniel just hums in response, expression moody and fatigue visible under his eyebags. Reading the mood, Jisung pats his shoulders gently.

“Hey, I know Seongwu had been avoiding your texts and calls, but I can assure you that he’s just being stupid. It’s not that he doesn’t want to see you, he’s just…he’s very dumb sometimes, you know that.”

Unconvinced, Daniel stares at his phone, wishing that by some miracle Seongwu will call him back, or replying his texts. Anything.

When he finally stops giving himself anymore false hope, Daniel throws himself to the sofa. He’s very healthy now and had been discharged from the hospital 2 days ago, so why Ong Seongwu still refuses to see him?

“Don’t go around throwing yourself carelessly like that. You’re not properly healed yet, Mr.Kang. And please unpack your bag and do the laundry, it’s been 2 days.”

Daniel nods emptily, staring at the drawings of the moon and stars on the ceiling of his tiny apartment, three stars resembling the moles of a certain someone, that certain someone had drawn them when he visited late into the night, drunk as hell. He remembers trying to catch Seongwu from falling off the chairs he had recklessly climbed to draw them.

“Dumb.” He giggles at the memory, causing Jisung to cast a pitiful glance at him.

“Niel, make sure you eat well. I’m gonna be busy these few days, since its public holiday. Don’t cause trouble. Try to find the rest of the people on the list. I’ve found a few of them already, it’s in the note on your ipad. Behave, okay. I’ll call Seongwu and try to make him call you back.”

The hug is different from the usual half-hug they had, and Jisung knows what the younger meant by that. Patting the boy’s bum playfully, Jisung wears his most assuring smile.

“Thank you hyung.” “I know. Don’t worry, everything will work out eventually.” Daniel hopes for the same thing too.

 

It’s Friday and Daniel is roaming around the campus to find a photo booth, as was informed by the reception where Bae Jinyoung might be handling. There he is, standing over the counter with his beautiful face, the sharp jawline and long limbs are added features to what he had reminisced from the memory.

“Hi, do you still remember me?” Daniel initiates, an awkward smile plastered on his face. It takes a several seconds for Jinyoung to recognise him, scoffing when he did.

_Totally deserve the eye-roll_ , Daniel thinks to himself.

“Hi, Daniel. What brings you here?” The question is polite but the tone is far from delight.

Well, Daniel had made him cry at one point after all, this is the least of treatment he deserves. Daniel stands stiffly for a few seconds, pupils shaking as he contemplates on his life choices.

“I..I err.. How do I say it.. Do you have some time after this? Coz it’ll be more comfortable to have a sit-down conversation.” Jinyoung seems reluctant at first, but noticing Daniel’s desperate eyes, he agrees to the invitation.

After altering his shift with someone else for the booth, Jinyoung leads him to the nearest bench at the park. Daniel, gratefully accepting the can of drink Jinyoung hands him as they sit down on the bench, few awkward inches away.

“So, what do you want to talk about? We haven’t seen each other for 7 years. I didn’t remember keeping in contact with you after we broke up.”

The current Jinyoung is bolder and wise now, all the shyness he used to possess long gone, and Daniel isn’t sure how to proceed with this.

“Hmm.. I just want to say thank you for willing to be my boyfriend for that time we had in school. You were an amazing person, and I was dumb for making you cry. I know this might sound like an excuse, but I was too young and too dumb to be able to make correct decisions.”

Frowning, Jinyoung isn’t sure if he should be happy with the confession. Well, it was all in the past after all.

“I’m not sure what do you expect from telling me all this, but I have a stable partner now and I don’t want you to think I’m giving you….”

“No, no. I swear it’s not what you think it is,” Daniel intercepts so fast his busan satoori starts coming out.

Sceptical, Jinyoung asks him to continue anyway.

“I’m just trying to move on and make peace with my past and that includes gaining forgiveness from you too since I’ve hurt you before. I had fallen in love too easily, too recklessly in the past and now, I’m trying really hard to make sure this person is the one for me, I’m trying make sure I can keep loving this person, and I will try my best to make this person stay.” 

Sincerity drips from his voice, and that makes Jinyoung looks at him in the eyes, for the first time that day. His gaze softens in sympathy as he smiles a small smile.

“You look like you’ve been hurt a lot worst that I did. You still haven’t come clean with your broken heart?”

Daniel laughs drily in response.

“He’s the 9th one. Still long way to go.” Chuckling at that, Jinyoung playfully hits at his arm, his eye smiles still as stunning as it was 7 years ago.

“That many? What a Casanova. Where I’m at anyway?”

“Fourth one, or fifth. In between I guess,” Daniel jokes, smiling when Jinyoung rolls his eyes in mock annoyance.

“Don’t remind me. I hope you will never two-timing anyone ever again.” His playful tone triggers a laugher from Daniel, who is very much pleased that they could joke about this now.

“Hey, have some faith, I’m not fourteen anymore.”

The conversation flows much smoother now, with Jinyoung getting curious with Daniel latest love interest, mentioning his boyfriend while he’s at it.

“Hold on a second. Did you just imply you and Jihoon are now….partners?” Jinyoung snickers at Daniel’s baffled face. He knows it will be a great shock to Daniel. The said guy flails his hands around, trying to make sense of the situation.

“So, you guys still keep in touch after the day we broke up?” The nod Jinyoung gives got him exclaiming in amazement.

“What a small world. How’s he doing anyway? I was trying to find him but failed.” Looking a bit reluctant, Jinyoung scoots closer to whisper out the reply.

“He’s kinda get himself involved with yakuza right now, so he’s currently lying low. Well, not because he’s hunted by them, but because they named him as the next successor after the boss. That’s why he never exposes any of his personal information to public.”

Daniel can only nod in response, wearing an awkward smile when he tries to imagine Jihoon and the yakuza. Surprising but impressive. That boy sure channelling his temper and strength to the right direction.

“Did he get your father’s blessing? No offence but I think your father’s an incarnation of Adolf Hitler. I wonder what he thinks of Jihoon, especially now that he got himself involved with the yakuza.”

Smiling mysteriously, Jinyoung brings his eyes up on the sky. Daniel notices how his eyes look so soft, his whole feature delicate, probably whilst thinking of his other half. How much he misses being able to love someone so deep, Daniel tentatively averts his gaze from Jinyoung. What is this pain on his chest?

“You know how my father manages a Kendo dojo, right? So one day, Jihoon challenged my father for a spar, he was so confident, his body was bruising all over from practices, but his eyes were wild and determined. Surprisingly, he won against my father, even before he won over my heart, even before I stopped thinking of you. With his confidence alone, he managed to squeeze his way into my heart and the rest is just fillers. But, we still haven’t told my father about his current ‘profession’, but I think my father likes him enough to accept him just the way he is. We’ll get through this.”

The thought of Jihoon doing his best for love nearly tears him up, Daniel gives Jinyoung a meaningful look before they both giggles as they reminisce on the memories of the past.

“The fact that you guys are perfect for each other is some sort of misdirection that conceal my douche past. I’m glad you guys are both living a good live. Now I need some advice to get my messy life sorted,” Daniel jokes, a ghost of a smile splaying over his lips.`

Jinyoung grasps at his cold hands, eyes empathetic, smiles bright.

“I wish you all the best for the rest of your quest. Confronting that 9th person can be pretty hard, but once you take the step forward, you have no choice left but to move on that path. That way you can finally open up your heart to the 10th person, hopefully forever.”

Before bidding him goodbye, Daniel requests to pass his thanks and apologies to Jihoon, which the other agrees to help. Jinyoung even assures him that Jihoon totally forgave him now since the two of them were able to meet because of him, so they should be grateful.

It’s safe to say Daniel had been replaying Jinyoung’s last words to him throughout the night, in hope that he could tell himself that too. One day, hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long wait. Uni are driving me crazy. Young adults, if you ever think of pursuing engineering as a career, dont do it. Unless if you are willing to sacrifice a large portion of your life deriving equations.
> 
> Here some cute Bae Jinyoung to cheer us up :)   
> This might sound sadistic but I hope I left you guys hanging from this chapter. Hihi  
> I got more stories coming.  
> Stay tuned.  
> Thank you.  
> Have a nice day.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi.  
> I hope everyone enjoy this fic.  
> I got the inspiration from the novel 5 people you met in heaven by Mitch Albom, my favourite author.  
> Do leave some comments, I wanna hear your thoughts.  
> Thank you.  
> Have a nice day.
> 
> #EngineeringStudentWhoSupposedToDoAssignmentsButWriteFanficsInstead  
> #CosUhhhItsScience  
> #Bye


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